1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to stents, and, in particular, relates to stents having particular nodes with a non-constant radius of curvature.
2. Description of Related Art
Stents are widely used for numerous applications where the stent is placed in the lumen of a patient and expanded. Such stents may be used in coronary or other vasculature, as well as other body lumens.
Commonly, stents are cylindrical members. The stents expand from reduced diameters to enlarged diameters. Stents may either be self-expanding or balloon-expandable. Self-expanding stents are generally inserted into vasculature via a delivery device; the removal of the delivery device causes the stent to radially expand. Balloon-expandable stents are placed on a balloon catheter with the stent in the reduced-diameter state. So placed, the stent is advanced on the catheter to a placement site. At the site, the balloon is inflated to expand the stent to the enlarged diameter. The balloon is deflated and removed, leaving the enlarged diameter stent in place. So used, such stents are used to substantially retain or expand diameters of occluded sites within a patient's vasculature or other lumen.
Examples of stents are numerous. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,373 to Pinchasik et al. teaches a stent with at least two rigid segments joined by a flexible connector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,516 to Fischell teaches a stent with a cell having a butterfly shape when the stent is in a reduced-diameter state. Upon expansion of the stent, the cell assumes a hexagonal shape.
When stents are placed in certain parts of the body, it may be desirable for the stent to be both strong and flexible. For example, when a stent is placed within a patient's vasculature at or near a patient's joint (e.g., hip, knee, elbow, etc.), the stent may be bent often and may be subject to a relatively large amount of mechanical strain. Thus, a stent that is both flexible and strong may be desirable for use in these and other instances.